The World of Unusual, Strange and Mysterious Places in Pennsylvania to Visit

This article lists the best locations in the state of Pennsylvania that are truly strange, mysterious, weird or just unusual. Make sure to not miss these strange attractions when visiting the state.

Pennsylvania's Strange and Mysterious Locations.

Are you looking for some strange and weird locations in your area? Well, welcome to Pennsylvania then. Pennsylvania is an old state, actually one of the first to be created for the new world. Not only does the state have lots of historical places to visit such as Gettysburg, Valley Forge and Independence Hall, it also has lots of weird mysterious places to take a trip to. So, take a seat and come along for the ride into the freaky zone...

Byberry Mental Hospital -- Located right outside Philadelphia city limits, this is an old insane asylum that is now closed. Satanic markings can be found throughout the floors of each building and several witnesses have seen dead animal carcasses on the premise. There are also countless people who claim to have either seen or heard something not of this world. The best story concerning the asylum is what has been referred to as the Spirit Boy and the Burnt Room. A large steel door covers a room that was burned to a crisp but the floors and walls are still intact. People who enter this room feel an evil presence almost every time. Another area that is really creepy are the underground tunnels. Evidently these were used to transport patients from one building to another without prying eyes.

Carbon County Jail-- Located in the town of Jim Thorpe, this jail is in my opinion the most freaky place I have visited. Legend has it that an innocent man took dirt off of the floor and smeared it onto his hands and then placed a hand print on the wall of his jail cell. On his execution day he proclaimed "This is the hand of an innocent man." This hand print still remains visible on the cell walls. It has been repeatedly washed, painted over and even plastered only to have the hand print come back over the course of 125+ years now. You can still see this mystery on a jail tour.

Town of Centralia-- This is an odd place to visit in that the town is actually on fire underneath the ground. Almost 50 years ago, town officials wanted to clear a landfill and decided to burn the waste. They did not realize that the landfill was sitting on top of large deposits of coal and it quickly spread throughout the whole town. The fires have been continuing for all of this time unabated and the government has forced almost all of the residents to relocate. There are still some hardliners who refused to move and are still living in the town though. Almost all of the roads leading into Centralia have been shut down but you can still see the smoke rising up through the trees on several roads on the outskirts of town.

Hansel Road-- Located in Newtown, there have been numerous reports of red eyes and green mists that float on top of the road and in the surrounding woods.

Haines Shoe House-- Located in Hallam, this is a house (now an ice cream parlor) in the shape of a shoe. Built over 60 years ago, it was the home of Mahlon Haines who was the owner of over 40 shoe stores spread throughout several local states. Why did he build a shoe house? According to Mahlon it was an advertising gimmick. The house is actually five stories tall with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths along with the other regular rooms.

Gravity Hills -- PA actually has two such roads. The first one is located on Buckingham Mountain and the other is in New Paris. Both roads are reported to make objects especially cars roll uphill.

Hexenkopf Hill -- Located in Eastern Pennsylvania in Williams Township, this is a hill on the side of a mountain which has several legends. The first one is that it was an ancient Indian site. The legend has it that Indian shamans would perform rituals to pull evil spirits out of the sick and afflicted and then imprison them in the mountain that the hill is on. It was said that the hill would glow at night because of all of the evil trapped inside of it. Another legend speaks of a witch who lived on the hill and placed a curse on all of her neighbors and the glow is from this curse. Hexenkopf actually means Witch's Head.

Mercer Museum-- Located in Doylestown, this is a unique place to visit. Basically the museum is a historical record of preindustrial America. The museum is seven stories tall and houses lots of art, tools, and furniture from before the industrial revolution. Some of the more strange things in the museum? How about a vampire killing kit or a real gallows with its trapdoor opened,

Midgetville-- Located in Ridley across from Taylor Hospital, this is a small town with a population of mini houses. Not only are the houses small but also the mailboxes along with the shrubbery on the property of each home. This is a private community and the "little people" would prefer to not have tourists and noisy people come to look. There are however some tricks to enter the town...

Mutter Museum-- Located in Philadelphia and is now part of the College of Physicians of Pennsylvania, this museum is strange to say the least. Basically the museum is dedicated to medical oddities and older medical devices and practices. Some of the more bizarre items on display are an iron lung, a brain slicer, the eye wall of shame which are wax reproductions of actual eye injuries, hundreds of actual swallowed items found inside patients stomachs and several celebrity medical cases. Some examples of these are a tumor removed from Grover Cleveland and a piece of the thorax removed from John Wilkes Booth. Other items to not miss are the shrunken skulls, the skeleton of a seven foot six inch man and a human skull with horns growing out of it (on the high forehead), In my opinion, the best and freakiest thing to see though is a colon removed from a deceased man that had a severe blockage in his digestive system. When removed, the organ was over eight feed long almost 2.5 feet across. It even contained forty pounds of fecal waste! Make sure to not have a weak stomach when visiting this museum as almost all of the displays are rather troubling to look at.

Toad Road (the gate well to Hell) -- Located in York, this road has actually been renamed to Trout Run Road now. Legend has it that this road is a gateway to the underworld. The story is basically that there was once an insane asylum along the road which housed the most deranged patients in the state. It was located in the woods and plenty miles away from prying eyes. This was also its downfall when it caught fire and rescue personal could not arrive in time. Many patients on the third floor ended up burning to death and several hundreds fled into the surrounding woods. A massive search took place to find these patients and many were beaten and even killed for trying to escape. What makes the site unique today is the legend of the seven gates, which are supposed to be on a path leading to the location of the mental hospital. The story says that if you do get past the seven gates you will have arrived at the hospital and be greeted by Satan himself. Many people never get past the fifth gate, often citing that they seen apparitions or felt an overwhelming sense of dread and doom and could not continue on the path.

Well, that concludes some of the weird and strange places to visit in Pennsylvania. Keep a look out for haunted places to visit in the state coming soon. I will also be doing the same themes for both New Jersey and Delaware. Stay tuned......

Tags

Meet the author

chimayblissI have been writing for lots of years. My interests cover pretty much everything and anything but science fiction, paranomal stuff and sports are certainly my favorites.I also write at <a href="http://www.expertscolumn.com">Expertscolumn.com</a>

Share this page

Comments

I grew up in schuylkill county.I drive through centralia often. I can tell you that all roads into centralia are open. Only one small section of rte 61 has been redirected because the ground underneath has become unsafe. (redirected to a road that is maybe 500 feet away running parallel to 61, for about 1/4 mile) A few years ago if you would have tried to stop your car ,your tires would melt the asphalt was so hot. You can freely drive the overgrown streets of centralia . you really can no longer see the smoke pouring out of vents. If you drive up the one street (its marked) you can see the flames and only at night.It really is not a spectacle anymore.